Petals That Keep Turning On Floral Wire.

How do I keep my petals and leaves from spinning around on the floral wire?It is hard enough to wrap the flowers without breaking them, but it is a constant problem with the petals and sometimes leaves, spinning around on the wire. Am I not letting them dry long enough?

For some flowers, you can bend the end of the wire into a little hook before you insert it. That won't work for leaves because they're too thin, and if you're wiring each petal, it won't work for that either. I usually dip the wire in some tylose mixed with water.

You can wrap the wire for bigger flowers, like roses, before you start making the flower.

I dip the ends of the wires in egg whites and wipe it off a little before inserting it into the petals/leaves. Generally this helps with the spinning issue.

Another idea is to wrap the end of the wire in just a very thin piece of gumpaste (sort of work it around until the wire is fully enclosed in the gumpaste and just place it on the back of the leaf or petal, and smooth a little bit. As long as the piece of gumpaste on the wire is thin enough it virtually disappears.

Ditto dipping the wires in glue or egg and wiping most of the liquid off before inserting. A technique that Nicholas Lodge uses is to take your thumb and forefinger and gently pinch the bottom of the petal or leaf to seal the opening where the wire was inserted. You may need to lightly touch a cornstarch bag with your fingers first or even during the shaping process to keep them from sticking. If you have a gentle taper at the base, the finished piece will fit together a bit more naturally for most flowers, too.

I was wondering if I simply was not letting the petals dry long enough. I know that Nicholas Lodge and just about anybody else, says that they need to dry around twenty four hours. I do the egg white thing, and have thought of the glue thing, but one way I will try is the tylose. All of you, thanks so much!

Ditto dipping the wires in glue or egg and wiping most of the liquid off before inserting. A technique that Nicholas Lodge uses is to take your thumb and forefinger and gently pinch the bottom of the petal or leaf to seal the opening where the wire was inserted. You may need to lightly touch a cornstarch bag with your fingers first or even during the shaping process to keep them from sticking. If you have a gentle taper at the base, the finished piece will fit together a bit more naturally for most flowers, too.

If the petals are spinning... they aren't dry enough. The wire you should use for wiring petals (and leaves and the like) should come wrapped. The naked wire doesn't work well since there's nothing for the gumpaste to stick to. Make sure you don't use too much egg white/gum glue too since that will impede your drying time.

They more than likely are not dry enough. Overnite should do it. It also could be the wires you are using. I only use Japanese paper covered wires...in my opinion, they are the very best for gumpaste. If you have any other questions, I'm happy to try and help. PM me

Another thought... I know Nic Lodge uses his own recipe for gumpaste (I use it too it's great) and it dries faster than any pre-made stuff you can buy, so you may need more drying time than he suggests due to this.